Overview

This module provides an overview of how languages are learned. In it you will be introduced to central questions in language acquisition research (e.g., How do we learn the meaning of words? What are the advantages of bringing up a child bilingually?). The focus will be on first language acquisition. We will cover topics such as word learning, syntactic development, language production, and typical vs. atypical development. We will also examine a variety of theoretical positions, including nativist and empiricist accounts of language acquisition, and a range of empirical approaches used to test these positions.

Students in this module, depending on assessment topics, research question(s) and methodologies will have to opportunity to utilize the department labs, specialized software and resources, when carry out their assessments. This can include access to and the use of; dedicated lab facilities for experiments, a professional grade sound isolation booth and high-end recording equipment setup, high-level statistical modelling and analysis software, behavioural experiment software systems, acoustic and phonetic analysis software, clinically-recognised standardised psychometric and language tests and a wide range of concordance software and specialised corpora for many languages.

This module provides an introduction to the study of language development. There are two goals for this course. The first goal is to introduce students to key findings and central debates in the study of language development. The second goal is to provide students with the tools to critically examine the existing literature. The lectures will provide students with the “big picture”, i.e. central topics are summarized, important studies discussed and open questions outlined. In the tutorials, students discuss key studies in detail and reflect on methodologies, results and implications.

Indicative list:
1. Early language development
2. Phonological development
3. Syntactic development
4. Multilingual Acquisition
5. Theories of language development: Constructivist and mentalist approaches
6. Bilingual development
7. Language disorders
8. Developmental neurolinguistics

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -D: Student has achieved the minimum acceptable standard of understanding and/or knowledge in all the learning outcomes. Student can demonstrate a minimum level of understanding of the basic concepts and be able to apply them to data with some degree of accuracy.

-good -B: Student has achieved a better-than-average standard of understanding and/or knowledge in all learning outcomes, and has a clear and accurate understanding of concepts; ability to apply concepts to data critically and thoughtfully; evidence of wide reading and clear and accurate reference to source materials; free from misunderstanding and errors of content; free from irrelevant material.

-excellent -A: Student has achieved a thorough standard of understanding and/or knowledge in all learning outcomes; or student has demonstrated an exceptional level of achievement in one or more learning outcomes together with a good overall standard. Student has achieved a thorough understanding of the subject, both in terms of content and theory; student is able to apply concepts clearly and accurately; substantial evidence of critical and original thought and analysis; clear, logical argument; high level of communicative competence; free from irrelevant material and errors of spelling and punctuation; evidence of extensive reading beyond basic texts and clear and accurate references to source material.

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse key facts, concepts, ideas and approaches for investigating of the central questions in the study of language development

• Critically evaluate empirical studies of child language acquisition

• Design and execute investigations into language development

• Identify and assess research methods appropriate to the study of language development